Speaker Johnson sends letter to Biden urging immediate executive action on the southern border
Published 4:21 am Friday, December 22, 2023
- Donald Trump had a major hand in Mike Johnson of Louisiana becoming speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. (Photo courtesy of house.com)
Special to the American Press
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, sent a letter to the White House on Thursday urging President Biden to immediately take executive actions available under existing immigration laws to stem the record tide of illegal immigration.
The letter is particularly urgent given this week set a new record for migrant encounters in a single day. Additionally, Senate Majority Leader Schumer adjourned the Senate yesterday for the year without taking any legislative action to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding at the border.
“This catastrophe requires your administration’s full attention and commitment, particularly since Senate Majority Leader Schumer adjourned the Senate yesterday for the year without considering the commonsense solutions in our House bill (H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023) or taking any other legislative action to address the matter,” Johnson wrote. “I urge you to immediately take executive actions available to you under existing immigration laws to stem the record tide of illegal immigration.”
Johnson said immediate executive actions should include the following:
- End catch-and-release, and either turn back or detain all illegal aliens encountered between ports of entry.
- Cease exploitation of parole authority, and ensure it is granted solely “on a case-by-case basis” instead of using parole for entire classes of aliens.
- Reinstate previous, and pursue new, asylum cooperative agreements and begin to negotiate with Mexico to reinstitute the Remain in Mexico program.
- Expand the use of expedited removal so that more aliens are screened and immediately removed if they cannot demonstrate asylum eligibility.
- Immediately renew construction of the border wall.
